When winter hits, divers go under ice

9:32 PM,
Dec. 31, 2012

Jim Wood sinks through a hole in the ice on a lake near Woodruff.

Written by

Carolyn Tiry
Gannett Wisconsin Media

When Wisconsin lakes freeze over and people start cutting holes in the ice, most of them plan to sit above the hole and wait for a fish to bite.

But when Bill Nichols takes a chain saw to a 6-inch-thick ice sheet, he plans to slip through the hole and into the water below.

Nichols, 42, is the owner of Timber Bay Scuba in Woodruff and an avid diver, even throughout the coldest months of the year, when he goes ice diving, a cold-water version of scuba diving that features better visibility, no boat traffic and water temperatures that can kill you if you don't wear a dry suit. ...